What They Are Saying

June 12, 2005

"My friends say, 'Oooh, you're going to Paris.' I know why the perception there is bad, but you can't run your business and your life by perceptions. I think it's totally justified. You learn. You see."

Lucius J. Kellam III

interim director and chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission

"I believe you save tax dollars every way you can. I look at tolls as tax dollars.''

Wanda Thornton

a former bridge commissioner who didn't take a single trip during her term

"If you think forward to 2020, I see horrendous traffic problems. If we lose a tunnel, we've lost everything.''

Kellam

"I can see no reason to build new tunnels. None. Clearly, they cannot justify the expense of adding another tunnel.''

Del. Glenn Oder

R-Newport News

"The reason they want the new tunnels is to keep the tolls, and they want to keep the tolls to keep the jobs and to prohibit growth on the Eastern Shore. The only real reason to build a new tunnel is if the current ones fall apart in -- what, 100 years?''

Gary Byler

former commissioner and frequent critic of commission operations

"The last we heard was the construction of the new lanes, years ago. Since then, I haven't heard of any other plans about new tunnels. To be honest, we don't get many complaints out there. There aren't complaints about backups. Oh, that's right, that's because there aren't any.''

Del. Phil Hamilton

R-Newport News

"It's damned preposterous. You don't need to be a CPA to see what's going on over there. ... You have to watch those people like a hawk. Their main purpose in life is to continue their existence.''